


The Nat Incident

by Never_Eat_Sour_Wheat



Series: The Smiling Twenties [11]
Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: 1920s, Alternate Universe - 1920s, Alternate Universe - Prohibition Era, Gang Violence, Gen, Hospitalization, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Self-Defense, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21561058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Never_Eat_Sour_Wheat/pseuds/Never_Eat_Sour_Wheat
Summary: She’d been thinking about where her dad went in the middle of the night lately. Trevor had come up with a bunch of silly theories. Some of them were legitimate, but others were just to make her laugh. She highly doubted her dad went to “a land in the sky made out of different kinds of candy”. She knew Trevor didn’t buy it either, but neither of them had laughed. Neither of them had really laughed in a long time. But, she was curious. And she was tired of not talking about it.
Relationships: Jimothan Botch/Trencil Varnnia, Nat Vancey & Trencil Varnnia
Series: The Smiling Twenties [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1500791
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	The Nat Incident

**Author's Note:**

> Please take warning of the tags! This fic is a very sudden change of tone for the au, and it's sort of the whole reason we have the no gore of minors rule on our side blog! This fic is pretty serious, please be careful. I didn't think any of the violence was too graphic, but I put the warning on anyways. Please stay safe everyone. I love you all, and I hope you enjoy!

Nat woke up when she heard her dad’s bedroom door close quietly. She considered staying in bed, and if she had known what would happen, she might have. But she had no one of knowing, so she got up.

She’d been thinking about where her dad went in the middle of the night lately. Trevor had come up with a bunch of silly theories. Some of them were legitimate, but others were just to make her laugh. She highly doubted her dad went to “a land in the sky made out of different kinds of candy”. She knew Trevor didn’t buy it either, but neither of them had laughed. Neither of them had really laughed in a long time. But, she was curious. And she was tired of not talking about it.

She snuck out of her room as he made his way downstairs. When she heard the front door close, she rushed down the stairs and pulled some shoes on. She was out of the front door a moment later, making sure to lock it behind her. He was just rounding the corner, and she rushed to keep up with him. A good thing too, since he ducked into an alleyway almost right away. She followed, pressing herself up against the walls of the buildings and avoiding street lights. She knew he had amazing hearing, so she tried to keep her footsteps light despite going fast. 

She slowly began to recognize where he was going. She walked this way to get to school. She knew that there were some interesting shops around here, maybe her dad just went to them on late nights? He wasn’t really a morning person. She shook her head. He would tell her if he was just going out to some shops. There was a laundromat around here, but that made even less sense. He didn’t have any laundry. Maybe...maybe he was meeting up with that new friend of his? Her dad did work odd hours after all...but he would’ve told her about that too.

As she followed him through the streets, she felt panic beginning to rise. If her dad hadn’t told her about it...maybe it was for the better if she didn’t find out. But then...was it something she’d done? Was it because...because she was the way she was? She shook her head to try and clear the thought, but it was only replaced with more anxieties. This wasn’t like when she snuck out to see Trevor in the middle of the night. She had no idea where she was going, even if she did know the area. And she had nothing to protect her, she hadn’t thought to grab a knife from the kitchen like she usually did. She felt a sudden rising sense of dread as she followed her dad. She had good ears too, and she could’ve sworn she heard some footsteps in the distance. She tried to reason that this was New York, and people were up at all odd hours of the night. But...something felt sinister when her dad rounded the corner into an alleyway

“Finally got you Varnnia!” A strange voice said. She gasped and pressed herself against the wall on the outside of the alley.

“Well...I’m flattered that you’d make such a fuss about little old me,” her dad said. His voice was laced with panic, but she could tell he was trying to keep calm.

“How would you like to tell us about your bosses and their plans?” Nat heard a couple sets of footsteps moving around and realized there were about three men in the alley, and her dad. 

“I’ve quit. My interest in that establishment is purely recreational now. I don’t know anything about their plans.” Her dad’s voice didn’t waver, she knew he wasn’t lying. What the hell could he be talking about? What plans, what did he quit?

“I find that hard to believe…” the voice said. She heard a sharp inhale, and then a yelp of pain. Not her dad’s.

There was some mumbling from her dad, his voice hot with anger, before there was a scuffle. She heard swears from several people, maybe all four of them. Angry yelling, the sound of fists connecting. It was like a fight at school, but ten times worse. After a moment, it got quiet. She held her breath and peeked around the corner.

Her dad was held up against the wall, with a knife to his throat. But more importantly, one of the goons was staring right at her.

“I thought I heard some heavy breathing!” The goon said. She screamed and turned to run, but there was a hand around the collar of her nightgown that lifted her up easily. “Well well well! Who might you be little lady?”

“Let me go!” She yelled, struggling in the man’s grip. He just laughed and held her a bit farther away from his body so her flailing limbs wouldn’t hit him. Her dad gasped and began to struggle as well. 

“Oh? Was that a reaction Varnnia? Who’s this cutie?”

“I…” Her dad cleared his throat. “She’s no one.”

“You’re a horrible liar.” The goon pulled out a pistol and held it against Nat’s temple. She sobbed, not daring to scream for help.

“Nat!” Her dad held perfectly still, like struggling might make things worse. “She’s my daughter, please, let her go, she’s done nothing wrong…” A few tears slipped down his cheeks.

“Oh how cute!” The man pinning her dad to the wall said. “Maybe we’ll have a little fun!” He pulled away from her dad, but the other man was quick to pick up the slack. He walked over to Nat and his friend, brandishing his knife sinisterly. “How would you feel about some new smile lines girly? I think a nice pretty smile would do you some good…” Nat screamed and struggled harder. “Don’t be such a baby…”

There was a high pitched scream from behind them. Trencil had stabbed the other man, who was now on the ground bleeding. The goon with the knife went for him instantly, but they were both struggling enough, that the goon with the gun dropped Nat, and said gun, to go help. Nat backed up against the wall, breathing heavily and just watching. The man who’s had the gun quickly pinned her dad to the wall again, while the man with the knife began to set to work. Trencil screamed as he was stabbed in the side, several times. Nat could only watch in horror. Her vision was starting to blur, before it focused, very suddenly, on something lying in the alley in front of her.

“Are you gonna talk now Varnnia! Or do we need to hurt little Miss Sunshine over there and-” The talking stopped when a loud bang went off. The man holding the knife stopped dead in his tracks before falling over, almost on top of Trencil.

Both men turned towards the young teen, and found her holding the pistol in a grip so tight she was shaking. 

The remaining goon pat himself down, looking for a weapon, but he didn’t get far before Trencil ripped the knife from his own side and buried it deep in the man’s neck. He screamed as he fell to the ground. Nat screamed, finally, and dropped the gun. Her dad came over to kneel down and check her for wounds.

“It will be alright Nat,” he whispered. Nat nodded, wide eyed at her dad. “I’m so sorry darling…”

“What were they talking about Dad? What’s going on Dad?” She asked. Her dad didn’t reply, just picked her up and shifted her to his side that wasn’t bleeding. “Dad?”

“I have to get your somewhere safe…” He muttered to himself. He took off like a shot, holding Nat tightly. She sobbed into his shoulder, and saw the bloody remains of the men when she dared to look up. Soon though, they were far away. Her dad didn’t let up for a while, speeding through the streets, and Nat nearly threw up when she realized they were leaving a trail of blood behind them, all from her dad’s side. 

She was out of it by the time her dad entered a building, she wasn’t paying attention to where they were. All she knew is that it was bright, and that her dad set her down on a white tile floor. She heard him talking to someone, then some yelling. She looked at her hands and found blood. She wasn’t sure whose it was. She turned just in time to see her dad collapse. 

And she wasn’t far behind.

* * *

Nat sniffed and curled further into the warm body she was pressed against. She didn’t remember what was going on, just that she had been crying when she fell asleep. She must have had a nightmare and curled up next to her dad.

“Hello little bat,” a deep voice with a Russian accent said gently. Nat’s eyes snapped open and she jerked away, screaming. “Please, calm down! It is okay! I am not going to hurt you!” She looked up and found a tall, kind of goofy looking man looking down at her. He smiled at her, and she noticed he was missing a few teeth. “I understand that you are scared, but it is alright. You can trust me.”

Everything came flooding back to her. Following her dad out of the house, watching him get jumped, getting threatened. Her dad, always looking out for her...all but giving himself up for her to be safe. And...in the struggle a gun had landed near her, and...she sobbed and curled in on herself. She heard some gentle words from the man, although she couldn’t tell what he was saying. Her dad had taken her to somewhere he thought was safe before he had passed out. So...wherever she was now was safe. Whoever this guy was was safe. She took a few deep breaths and forced herself to uncurl.

“I...sorry,” she said, sniffing.

“It is okay. I understand, it is hard the first time,” the man said. He held a hand out to her, and she took it carefully. “I am Boris Habit. It is good to meet you, although I wish the circumstances were nicer.”

“Y-yeah...I’m Nat...Nat Vancey.” She had made up the last name a while ago, to give to people on the street if they asked. It never hurt to be too cautious. The man, Boris, smiled.

“Yes, I know. Your father and I are friends,” he said. Nat nodded, before grabbing his hand frantically.

“My dad! How’s my dad, where is he?” She asked, trying to stand on wobbly legs. Boris pushed her back onto the couch gently, and she tried to hold back more tears.

“He is okay. He is in the hospital, our friend is taking care of him. They have never lost a patient, and he was not that badly hurt anyway,” Boris said, keeping a hand against her so she wouldn’t try to stand again. She sobbed and curled up again. “I am sorry little bat. He will be okay.”

“This is all my fault…” she said. Boris looked worried, and carefully moved a hand to rub at her back.

“Nonsense. He would have been attacked either way, and you are the one who saved him. If you hadn’t been there…” he trailed off and Nat sobbed harder.

“But...he sneaks out because of me. Because I’m not the perfect...kid.” She didn’t need to go into the gender stuff, she barely knew this guy. “If I were better, then-”

“That is not why he sneaks out,” Boris said, gently but firmly. “He sneaks out because...well, I think he should be the one to tell you. But whenever he and I talk, he talks about you endlessly. How proud of you he is, how happy he is that you are in his life. He loves you very much little bat.” She sobbed again and curled into his side.

“Can...can we go see him?” She asked. Boris sighed and moved his hand to run it through her hair. She had no idea why she was so comfortable with this stranger touching her, but it was comforting, and he was safe. She didn’t know that of course, but she was too tired to do anything if he wasn’t, and she needed someone safe right now.

“Not yet, I’m afraid. My doctor friend will call when he is available to be seen. Then, I will take you to see him.” Nat looked around for the first time, and found that they were in a dimly lit office. 

“Where...where are we?” 

“A laundromat that I run. We’re downstairs, in the office,” Boris replied.

“Why did my dad take me to a laundromat? How do you know him?” Boris sighed.

“I...a lot of these questions he should answer himself. I cannot answer them for him I am afraid. But you are safe. You will always be safe here.” Nat nodded and slowly scooted to the edge of the couch. She wanted to jump off but...even a small height like this made her feel sick. Everything made her feel sick. “What is wrong little bat?”

“Did...did I kill a man tonight?” She asked. Boris’ face grew dark.

“Yes...you did,” he answered. Nat nodded, feeling numb. “You killed a very bad man. If the police ever try to come after you, the jury will understand. You were protecting your family. They will understand.” He chuckled humorlessly. “And, we have a very good lawyer. He will be able to get you and your father home safely. Do not worry little bat, everything will be okay.” He leaned forward to put a hand on her back again. She nodded and curled into his side. “Everything is okay.”

* * *

Nat felt like she might be sick as she watched the sun rise through the skyscrapers of New York City. She was in some stranger’s car, on her way to see her dad in the hospital. There were two men sitting in the front seats, Boris, and a man who had introduced himself as Kamal. They were both glancing back at her on occasion, but she didn’t take her eyes off the buildings. Boris was driving, so when a hand reached into the back seat, it was Kamal’s. She took it carefully. 

“It’s okay Nat,” he said. “Fay told us that he’s going to make a speedy recovery. None of the wounds were deep, but there were a lot of them. He’ll be alright Nat. I promise.” She just nodded and squeezed his hand before letting go of it again. He just nodded back and brought his hand back into the front seat.

They pulled up in front of the hospital, and Nat and Kamal stepped out of the car. Boris went to go park somewhere. Kamal offered a hand to Nat again, and she took it without thinking. They walked, hand in hand, into the hospital. Nat wasn’t paying a lot of attention to what Kamal and the nurse behind the counter were saying, but she knew they were going to get to see her dad right away. Kamal lead her down a hallway, and she followed along, tripping over her feet slightly. He opened the door for her, but he stayed in the hallway. Jimothan was in the room, holding her dad’s hand, and they were whispering to each other. They both turned to look at her. Jimothan smiled at her sadly, stood up, kissed Trencil’s cheek, and went into the hallway. Nat just stood and stared at her dad for a second, but he couldn’t return her gaze. Eventually, she came to sit in the chair next to him.

“You have some explaining to do Mister,” she whispered. He turned to look at her. She tried to smile at her fake parenting tone. He tried too, but neither of them were really smiling. And the other knew it.

“I suppose I do…” Trencil said, setting his hand near her’s. She took it carefully, and her dad did really smile at that. “I...I used to be a part of a mob. For quite a while actually.” Nat nodded and squeezed his hand lightly. “I quit because...because of you. I didn’t want you to be hurt. But...I suppose it didn’t do much good.”

“Why do you still sneak out? If you quit, I mean…” Nat asked. Trencil sighed.

“I still have a connection to the people who work there. And...to see Jimothan.” Nat sobbed. “Darling? What is it?”

“Is he more important than me?” Trencil froze up, and Nat stood, knocking the chair backwards. “I knew it! You love him more than me! You don’t love me!” She yelled. 

“No, Nat, please listen-”

“No! If I was still a boy maybe this wouldn’t happen! You were lying, you don’t like my new name, you don’t like me, you hate me, and-”

“Natasha! Please!” Trencil yelled. Nat stopped rambling and looked up at her dad. He was crying too. “I love you so much, you are the most important thing in my life, and nothing will ever change that. I would have died for you in that alleyway. I’m so sorry I made you feel unloved. I never meant to hurt you by sneaking out, I tried to take steps to keep you safe, but it wasn’t enough.” He sobbed, and Nat crawled into the bed next to him. She was on his good side, so she leaned against him, He held her, and she began to sob as well. “I love you so much Natasha. So so much.” Nat just nodded. She could tell it hurt him for her to not say it back, but after everything that had happened that night, she wasn’t sure if she could.

But she could hold him while they both cried. 

So she did.


End file.
